Starting this spring, students at Mount Kisco Elementary School, as well as the general public, will be able to plant produce in a community garden, which will be located on a former tennis court site near by.

The first plantings should be in March, with a June grand opening planned, said Nanci Colangelo, who is an elementary consultanting teacher for the school. The garden is being funded with a $10,000 grant from the Bedford Garden Club, she said. MKES tried to create a garden on the site last year but could not secure funding at the time. The garden club will collaborate with the school and act as "master gardeners for the children," Colangelo said.

The garden will be made up of a series of raised planting beds, with crops including tomatoes, lima beans, snap peas, radishes, sunflowers and herbs, the school announced. Water from a rain barrel will be used in the process, according to Colangelo. In addition, the surroundings will be decoarted with bird houses donated from local businesses. The bird houes were painted by students in November, during the residence period for artist Kim McCormack. For the announcement, the school sent out a water color rendering of what the garden will look like, which was done by Sheri Brown, an art teacher at the school.

Students will follow a calendar for when to plant the crops, which will be done based on grades. They will also learn other processes of gardening, including how to compost and doing irrigation. Students who are in summer school will also have a chance to work on it, Colangelo said.

In promoting themes such as sustainability and nutrition, the school hopes to integrate the garden into the curriculum, with an after-school cooking program being an example.